Teed off Sunday morning sometime after 9:00. I showed up as a single and as a cluster of groups arrived on the first tee line up, found I was paired with a threesome. But due to a strange bit of sched... Continue »

Teed off Sunday morning sometime after 9:00. I showed up as a single and as a cluster of groups arrived on the first tee line up, found I was paired with a threesome. But due to a strange bit of scheduling there was a single set to go off alone two groups ahead of us, so I joined him for a twosome. There were a lot of pluses on the day. Mild weather, a surprisingly reasonable pace of just under 4.5 hrs. on a Sunday, the other single was excellent company, and the course is in overall pretty nice shape. I don't recall any issues finding a suitable flat spot on a tee box all day. Of the various aspects, it was the fairways that had the minor issue of the occasional scattered bare or thin area. They were isolated and not generally a problem, with the grass and lies offered through most of the fairways being good. The one time it really affected me was when I hit a good drive on #10 and ended up on a soft, bare dirt patch on the fairway. It was situated within an area of active gopher holes (with a resident go-fare) so I took a drop and it was of no consequence. In this case, the patch was the exception on an otherwise nicely green fairway. Rough was pretty consistently green, of varying lengths, frequently kikuyu, and so recovery varied. I was in one bunker which was clean with minimal footprints and medium firm to play from. The greens were in good shape, minimal ball marks, running true and medium quick — quick enough to get frisky on some downhill puts. A nice pace for a muni, really. Conditions provided for a very enjoyable round and I was glad I opted for Harding on the day.

Played Harding today with a 10:40 am tee time. We started only 8 minutes behind. Course was very busy, but still enjoyable. We waited on 9 holes, especially more on every par 3s. Overall playing time... Continue »

Played Harding today with a 10:40 am tee time. We started only 8 minutes behind. Course was very busy, but still enjoyable. We waited on 9 holes, especially more on every par 3s. Overall playing time was about 5:30. Long day to say the least.

Course was in average to good shape. Fairways were nice, with mild bare spots. Same with rough. Tee boxes were green and thin at times, usually level, at times just a bit unlevel. Greens were smooth and medium in speed. No major damage spots noted. Lastly, sand was soft and reasonable to play out of.

Conclusion, this is a solid tree lined classic golf course. Very enjoyable track, given you have 6 hours in the day to play a round of golf. I endorse this track for its solid layout and slightly above average condition. I want to play again, but not with the described slow play conditions.

Wednesday afternoon round at Griffith Park Harding today with an old friend who was playing a GP course for the first time. Had an 11:04am tee time, grabbed a cart and hit from the blue tees with anot... Continue »

Wednesday afternoon round at Griffith Park Harding today with an old friend who was playing a GP course for the first time. Had an 11:04am tee time, grabbed a cart and hit from the blue tees with another really enjoyable pair of gentlemen.

Bit of a rollercoaster day on a personal level with a great front nine and an absolutely abysmal back nine, but the course stayed consistent throughout. It's about what you might expect right now from one of LA County's busiest and most trampled upon courses.

What kind of shape is Harding in right now? Not bad. The fairways are definitely thin in some areas but for the most part you will be rewarded with serviceable lies - not lush, but serviceable. A few dried out spots called for 'winter' rules, even though it was close to 100 degrees outside! The rough is thick in places off the fairways and definitely grabby around the greens. Tee boxes were in good shape for the most part, and traps were average to slightly above average depending on the hole.

Greens were rolling pretty well but definitely too many ball marks and golfers simply not doing their part to keep up the nice work the grounds crew is doing. Some surface damage visible on the 11th hole green, but for the most part they were soft and holding shots well, running relatively straight and hitting a speed I would guess around a 9 to a 9.5.

No cart service all day which is a shame with that hot weather, however the great snack shop between Harding and Wilson is accessible from the 5th hole tee box and 8th hole green, so you can stock up there with all you need. Harding also remains a fun layout - not crazy or quirky in any way, just a solid all-around golf course with the solid player in mind.

Went over to Griffith Park Sunday, 9/10, to see what was available. Wilson was restricted to some tournament play, so about 40 minutes after arrival I was actually teeing off @10:00 on Harding in a fo... Continue »

Went over to Griffith Park Sunday, 9/10, to see what was available. Wilson was restricted to some tournament play, so about 40 minutes after arrival I was actually teeing off @10:00 on Harding in a foursome composed of singles. The conditions overall were really pretty good. Coverage on everything from tee boxes to fairways and greens reflect the effects of the wet winter — well established, thick grass, with the usual, occasional brown or worn area — nothing to complain about or detract from the overall conditions. The rough was worth an extra mention. As uniform as anyplace I've played lately, it was usually not long enough to lose a ball, (although I did in one thick stretch,) but it was grabby and would cost you. Relentless in its consistency, I never seem to catch a favorable, fairway-like patch when I ended up there. The greens were pretty clean on the whole, and ran at a reasonable, medium pace. Bunkers were generally groomed and only slightly firm. I expect a slow round here on a Sunday, but it was worse than usual approaching a 5.5 hr round — more waiting on the early holes followed by a slow but steady remainder. I'm usually happy to spend more time at golf, but I admit that walking on a warm, slightly humid day, it started feel like a grind towards the end and I was losing focus. That said, the group was pleasant and the conditions make it worth a recommendation.

Played 7-30-17, Sunday morning. 728 tee time but teed off 10 minutes late. Finished at 12:20. So POP was mediocre. Playing conditions overall were very good. Fairways were mostly lush, propping u... Continue »

Played 7-30-17, Sunday morning. 728 tee time but teed off 10 minutes late. Finished at 12:20. So POP was mediocre. Playing conditions overall were very good. Fairways were mostly lush, propping up balls on balls in the fairway. A few muddy areas which should have been marked GUR were avoided. The rough throughout was quite penal, at least 2 inches thick. Greens were OK except for a couple which had some fungal issues. Tee boxes were mostly level but a handful were almost rock hard. Bunkers were ok with thick-ish sand.

Went over to Harding as a single @ 10:30 this morning and was sent to the lineup at the first tee to join a twosome, third up, and teed off about 15 minutes later. It has to be the result of the rain... Continue »

Went over to Harding as a single @ 10:30 this morning and was sent to the lineup at the first tee to join a twosome, third up, and teed off about 15 minutes later. It has to be the result of the rainy winter, because I'm generally finding better than typical conditions at the courses I've hit lately, and Harding was no exception. Tee boxes generally pretty level with good grass coverage. Fairways were pretty consistently green and lush with only a few isolated dry patches and a couple soggy spots. Nice hitting surface with decent rollout. The rough was generally lush. There were some spots where the ball would sink down and be hard to find, although in most cases it wasn't that deep. It was deep enough to be penalizing more often than not, with only the occasional opportunity for a clean recovery. Green side rough could similarly vary from nice chipping grass to a little bit longer and juicier, but generally nicely playable. Greens were receptive and generally clean, rolling fairly true at a medium speed. A few had the suggestion of a bumpier texture than the majority, but seemed to be more often a visual phenomenon than of real consequence on putting lines. It was a pretty warm day, but there was a nice breeze (up to one club) to cool the sweat, so it was really more pleasant and less oppressive than I feared it might be. I was in hydration mode and draining my water bottle all day. Glad they have enough fountains spread around to refill. The pace was slow but generally steady for something short of a five hour round. The guys I was paired with were more into keep to themselves and not overly sociable, nor were they in any way unpleasant so, being prepared for anything, I was fine with that. Generally speaking, a fine example of muni golf under better than average course conditions.

Back out to Griffith Park today with a buddy to tackle Harding once again. It still amazes me how easy it was to get a decent tee time at Harding while Wilson was backed up until the late afternoon? I... Continue »

Back out to Griffith Park today with a buddy to tackle Harding once again. It still amazes me how easy it was to get a decent tee time at Harding while Wilson was backed up until the late afternoon? I've played both numerous times and I simply don't get the fascination with Wilson be so much superior to Harding. But that's for another forum. As far as course conditions currently at Harding, not too bad at all. Took a cart today to escape some of the hot sun and played the blue tees at $59, which is a fair price with the cart added. We took off as a twosome and started playing with the twosome in front of us around the 7th hole and had an overall respectable POP of 4 1/2 hours - pretty darn good for a Sunday. A lot of nice areas in the fairways that are nice and lush, but the heat is definitely back and there were a few thin areas where the heavy traffic would congregate. There was also some overwatering, swampy areas along some of the fairways. The rough was crazy - it appears they haven't mowed it down in quite some time and it will absolutely grab any shot coming out of it. Bunkers I was in (only two) were okay but one was not raked and made for a terrible lie. Tee boxes generally flat but a lot of hard ground to push tees into. Greens were in nice shape in terms of coverage and look very nice, but absolutely roll medium-slow and require a confident stroke or you'll be short a lot most of the day. Not too many problems though with bumps or ball marks which was nice to see - they seem to have healed well from the last aeration when I played here a month or so ago. Always enjoy the layout at Harding and have a fun time there. It's not crazy long from the blue tees (6423 yards), but there are only three par 5s on the course so birdies can be tough to come by if you're not on your game. Fun closing hole for sure here, too. Darn it - just realized too that there are only four pictures from such a popular course as Harding and I forgot to do hole-by-hole shots - next time!

Played Sunday morning, 6/11. POP was good at 4 hr 20 minutes, with a fast 3 some in front of our 4 some. Fairways were fine, with some very lush areas. Some tee boxes were very hard packed but bett... Continue »

Played Sunday morning, 6/11. POP was good at 4 hr 20 minutes, with a fast 3 some in front of our 4 some. Fairways were fine, with some very lush areas. Some tee boxes were very hard packed but better than before; but they were generally level. Unfortunately, I was in one greenside bunker before they groomed it and let's just say the lie was not favorable. Greens didn't look great but they rolled ok at medium speed.

'Know before you go' should have been adhered to before I headed over to Harding for a twilight round today. I was a little bummed out when I got to the first green to see the effects of the recent pu... Continue »

'Know before you go' should have been adhered to before I headed over to Harding for a twilight round today. I was a little bummed out when I got to the first green to see the effects of the recent punch and then realized I had only myself to blame for not checking with GK first. Just assumed it was already May and over with by now!

Rest of the course though was in pretty nice shape. I walked the blue tees and played a really good round despite the greens being sub-par. The fairways had some very decent coverage and there were only a few thin lies to be found on the periphery. Rough cut to a nice length. Was only in one bunker but saw the others and they looked thin but playable. Tee boxes on many holes were rock solid and difficult to place tee in at times.

POP was a very nice 3.5 hours and moved well until the last few holes. The group behind us tried to hijack our spot on the 9th tee box (at the snack bar) but me and my playing partners I was paired with were having none of that! Walking rate was $32 which is fine, but more fine when the greens are in the right shape.

I always enjoy this course and was really happy to be out there and play my best round to date on it. I would give the greens another 2-3 weeks and then everything should be great.